Beauty and the Beast
by ChrissyWhissy
Summary: RemusxLily Not all fairytales end happily ever after. Featuring Lily as the Beauty, and Remus as the Beast. Not AU
1. Prologue

Beauty and the Beast

Not all fairytales end happily ever after. Featuring Lily as the Beauty, and Remus as the Beast.

Disclaimed;; I don't own Lily, Remus, James, or Beauty and the Beast. And if you think I do, I'm afraid I didn't get the memo.

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Fairytales, as a definition, have good endings. If it had a sad ending, would it be a fairytale? No, it wouldn't. It would be just a story, at best, or a tragic tale of two lovers who aren't meant to be. Was that me and Lily? Believing ourselves to be living in a fairytale, up until the point reality kicked in? Fairytales, as a definition, are not reality.

Let me explain.

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She was Lily Potter. She was beautiful, responsible, top of our class. She was this sort of mystery to most- not one of those shy girls people weren't aware existed, but nobody really knew anything about her. They knew she was one of the two Gryffindor prefects, and that whenever a teacher had praised a student in class, it was probably her. They knew she had a temper, and they knew James Potter had a soft spot for her.

But that was all, really. Nobody knew who her friends were, where she came from, what she was like. She was different from us, close and yet distant. She was almost aloof, the way she kept away from people in general, but she wasn't. Maybe it was shyness, maybe simply the understanding that she would never fit in, so why even bother? She simply stayed away, untouchable, taking the spotlight when it was required of her, but preferring to stay away from it. In short, everything we weren't.

And we were? The Fearsome Foursome, as Sirius had once said. Or the gang more commonly known as the Marauders. We were just as untouchable as her, in a way. But in a way, nothing like it. We were the cool guys, we had the run of the school. Every guy wanted to be us, every gal wanted to be with us. Or so, at least, Sirius once put it.

There was James, the strong one, the leader. Good looking, renowned Chaser, humorous and an arrogant toerag to boot. Then there was Sirius, James's right and left hand, in the role of best buddy and the one who had recently broken the Hogwarts record of 'Most Girlfriends in a Week'. He, of course, protested, claiming none of the eleven girls had ever been his girlfriend. And there was Peter, as well, a bit of a nerd and a lot of a wimp, but a Marauder, nonetheless.

They might not sound like much, but they were everything for me. My friends, my brothers, and everything a beast like me could ask for.

Yes, I was a beast. Any one of the few who knew my secret would immediately protest, claiming loudly that I was by no means a beast, but simply an ordinary sixteen year old wizard who happened to have a 'furry little problem'. But I _was_ a beast, and if I had ever doubted it, she taught me differently.

Back to the story. We, the Marauders, we were practically family. Maybe to everybody else we were just four cool guys, who coincidentally shared a dorm, so it was simply most convenient to band up, but we knew differently. The bonds between us were strong and deep- we were much more than just a group of friends.

There were certain rules to being a Marauder. It wasn't the kind of rules you wrote down and pinned on the dorm wall, like Sirius said the seventh year girls had on their wall (I think he was bluffing, trying to impress us by the fact that he had gotten into the girls' dorms), but a sort of mutual understanding, things a person felt were right or wrong without being told so.

For example, a Marauder was never the only Marauder to get detention. If one went down, we all went down, or at least two of us. Even if there was only one of us who deserved it, though that was rarely the case, somebody else shared the blame. Because that was us, the Marauders, always there for each other.

That was the great thing about us. We really were always there for each other. Whether it was Peter's mum catching dragon pox, or Sirius running away from home, or just losing a Quidditch game, you knew there was somebody out there to have your back. Same goes, of course, for me and my monthly illness.

It was in second year they found out, or maybe even towards the end of first year; whenever it was, I remember the night they confronted me well, too well.

"Remus," I was in our dorm, packing, for Christmas was in a few days. All three of them came in together, James and Sirius side by side, Peter hiding behind them. It was obvious they had a purpose, and if it hadn't been, you could easily tell by the look on their faces. But I suspected nothing.

"We- we need to ask you something," It was Sirius this time. It was then I realized something was up, but I still had no idea what. It couldn't be anything too serious, right? And yet, the graveness in Sirius's voice didn't sound encouraging.

"Anything."

"Are- are you- a, y'know-" James faltered, hesitating, not knowing how to say it. It was one word, two syllables, but it was a word that could ruin your life for good. Who would know, if not I? It was Peter, surprisingly, who relieved the tension.

"Are you a werewolf?"

I don't remember why I did what I did. Looking back, I should have simply run, as fast as I could, to Dumbledore, and begged him to let me leave. It would have saved me a whole lot of heartache and agony. But then again, I would never have discovered friendship, and how far friends will go for you.

"Yes, I am," It was awkward, saying so, though at that age, not having yet realized the full meaning of my condition, I felt no shame. "And, well, I really hope you're ok with it. Dumbledore says it doesn't matter, and he's arranged it so I'm away from the school when I transform, which is where I've been going every month, obviously, so I don't see that you shouldn't be ok with it. But, well, if there is a problem, I could ask him- Dumbledore, I mean- about different dorm arrangements. He did say some people might not take it so well if they found out, which is why I didn't tell you guys. But I hope you're not mad, are you? Please, I hope you're not mad."

And Sirius just laughed. James joined in too, and together they laughed until tears were running out their eyes and they were clutching their stomach. I can picture myself, sitting on the bed, flustered, worried, though not sure about what, staring at these two laughing boys, not sure if their laughter was a good sign, or a bad one.

"Remus, don't be silly," said James, once he managed to stop laughing, "You actually think we're going to ask you to change dorms?" I stared at him, still unsure of his meaning. Perhaps he meant that I should leave Hogwarts altogether? But I said nothing, unwilling to make more a fool of myself than I already felt.

"We figured it out ages ago," explained Sirius, "We've been in the library, we looked it up and stuff. And we've found a way to help you."

I was still staring, trying to comprehend his words. Certainly, I hadn't really been expecting them to ask me to leave Hogwarts; I knew them well enough to know that, at least. But help me?

"There's nothing you can do to help," I mumbled, and then realized how ungrateful it sounded, "I mean, I really appreciate it and all, yeah? But I'm a werewolf and I'm going to stay a werewolf forever, and there's nothing you guys can do about it."

"You're right, you're going to have to stay a werewolf," James went on, a twinkle in his eye, "But we figured, since we can't keep you company as humans, we'd keep you company as animals."

I blinked once, twice, my brain working slower than ever. Did he mean- no, he couldn't. And yet-

"Animagus!" Peter squealed, unable to keep it in anymore.

And it was my turn to laugh. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, probably more than James and Sirius put together. But, well, first full moon of fifth year, there we were, a wolf, a stag, a dog and a rat, running together across the lawns, racing each other to the nearest tree. If not for those monthly adventures, perhaps our friendship wouldn't have survived the ordeals that came in our sixth year. But those nightly wandering were living proof to what I always knew- Marauders were always there for each other.

A/N;; There you have it! It's just this sort of introductory first chapter, I really hope you like it. If you did, be sure to tell me so with a little _review_! And if you didn't, _review_ and tell me what I can improve!


	2. First Impressions

Sixth year began like any other. I found James and Sirius on the platform. We boarded the train together, scared some second years out of their compartment, and settled ourselves in it. We talked, we laughed, we shared summer adventures. Peter found us, and joined in the fun. And when the train started moving, I excused myself and went to join the prefects.

I entered the compartment, slightly late because of the jammed corridors, and the only seats left were next to Lily or Snape. It was easy to choose. With a small smile at her- which she did not return- I slid into the chair. At the front stood Dorcas Meadows; I didn't know much about her, but that she was a seventh year Gryffindor, and apparently this year's Head Girl.

"So… First of all, welcome all you fifth year prefects. I'm sure I'll be able to count on all of you to do your job well throughout the year, and hopefully the next ones as well," She smiled awkwardly. It was easy to see she had reached the part in her speech she hadn't planned out. "So, um, your duties include…"

I zoned out, uninterested in the fifth year's duties.

I had a bad habit of daydreaming. I would lose myself in other realities, fantasizing about what could have been. Sometimes I would write a story in my head, making up plots and characters as I went along. But more often, I would dream about myself. What my life would be like, if I wasn't a werewolf. For at age sixteen, I already knew what life after Hogwarts would be like for me.

_I was the Minister of Magic. I saw myself in my office, seated on a comfortable chair. The room itself was much in the style of Professor Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, for I knew next to nothing of how an office should look. Sunlight filtered through the windows, because I didn't know then that the Ministry was underground._

_I was waiting for an important guest. I didn't know just yet who exactly it was that should be stepping into my office any minute, but it was probably another Minister, from a different country, come to offer support in the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. _

_Though, of course, my Aurors were doing very well as it was. Naturally, with me at its head, the Ministry of Magic was just days away from capturing You-Know-Who himself. In fact, that was probably the Head of _ _the Auror Office knocking on my door, come with the news that they had just discovered his hideout, and wanting to inquire whether I would like to join them in their operation tonight. The Minister would be quite an addition to their ranks, of course._

_It was not another Minister, though, or a high ranking Auror. It was a woman, whose face I couldn't picture, nor could I think of a name for her. But I knew her, for of course this was my wife. I smiled, and embraced her. She had had an idea to come over before she started her shift at St. Mungo's- my wife would be an accomplished Healer, I had long ago decided- and maybe we would go out for lunch together, if I was not too busy? Of course I wasn't._

An elbow in my rib brought me back to reality. "Pay attention, Lupin," Lily hissed at me, "She's moving onto sixth years."

I nodded dumbly, and refocused my attention on Dorcas, who was just finishing instructing the fifth years.

"So, you can go now, if you'd like. Remember to do a patrol every round hour in your corridor, preferably with a partner. And I'll let you know when the first prefect's meeting is when I know."

There was a bit of a commotion as they gathered their stuff, found their friends, and made their way out. But within a few minutes, she went on.

"So, sixth years now. Not much new, really. Well, only two things. First of all, you know how fifth years are partnered with seventh year for patrols? That leaves sixth years to patrol with sixth years. Gryffindors with Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs with Hufflepuffs, you get it. You'll take your patrol schedules on your way out."

I glanced at Lily. So I'd be spending six hours a week with her, wandering about Hogwarts, in the dark, empty corridors… James would have a holiday.

"And, last thing, and you might want to listen good… You may, or may not, remember your days as a first year… The first few weeks are very hard for those new to Hogwarts, obviously. So, Professor Dumbledore has decided that you sixth year prefects will each take a first year student under your wing. These first years will be picking by the Heads of House, who will search for those who have a harder time adapting, or are in need of some kind of, erm, supervisor. That's all, I think. Any questions?"

Lily's hand shot up, and Dorcas nodded at her. "Evans?"

"We're supposed to be babysitting some first year brats, who the teachers can't be bothered keeping in detention until they learn to behave themselves?"

Dorcas faltered, taken off guard by Lily's bluntness. "Well, I… I wouldn't exactly put it that way. Think of it as adopting a younger sibling."

"I'm not interested in a sibling, thank you very much. I'm not going to do this."

I stared at Lily. I'd never noticed this side to her- not that I'd ever talked to her much, but she just didn't seem the type of person who'd say such things. She was, after all, the one who would always yell at James for picking on the younger students…

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Evans. This is one of your duties as a prefect."

"We'll see about that," that was muttered under her breath, only loud enough for me to hear.

"No more questions?" she looked about the room, but there was nothing but blank eyes staring back at her. "So, um, dismissed. Patrol the corridors every hour, grab your patrol schedules on your way out… You know the drill."

The compartment was once again full of noise and commotion as the sixth years hurried out. Lily was the first to dash out, with me close behind her.

"Lily, wait!"

The voice came from behind me. I noticed she didn't stop, or turn, and thinking she had simply not heard, called her as well.

"Evans, wait a second!"

She stopped as I called out her name. "What do you want, Lupin?"

I'd caught up to her now. "Me? Uh, nothing… Somebody else did, and I thought you hadn't heard, so-"

"I did hear." She turned to go.

"Lily, there you are."

Severus Snape stood behind me, and I now recognized his voice as the one who had called Lily. She simply glared at him. He stared back, opening and closing his mouth like some sort of idiot. And she kept on glaring.

"Um, I'll go… I'll see you tomorrow evening, Evans." It was starting to be uncomfortable, standing between them like that. I started walking down the corridor, in the direction of our compartment.

"No, wait Lupin. I'll come with you."

Her voice was cold, and even I, as little as I knew her, understood that it wasn't my company she interested in. I faltered, but stopped and let her catch up to me. Somehow, you couldn't resist her.

We walked in silence, for all the world like two strangers walked side by side by complete coincidence. I could feel Snape's eyes boring into my back, and I could only wish not to run into him by myself over the next few days.

"This is my compartment… Bye."

I slipped into the compartment, shutting the door behind me. It was unusually quiet in the compartment- Peter was snoozing, James was idly shuffling a pack of Exploding Snap cards, and Sirius was nowhere to be seen.

"Moony, there you are buddy. Wanna play?"

"No thanks. Where's Sirius?"

"Dunno… Said something about an Annabelle and disappeared," James shrugged, stuffing the cards back into his trunk.

I nodded. "Fifth year Ravenclaw, blonde… They were pretty much glued by the lips for a week last year, you must remember."

"Oh, her" We were both silent for a while, as James flipped through this morning's _Daily Prophet_, and I occupied myself with the scene rushing through the window as the train sped towards Hogwarts, my mind empty.

"So you guys _are _here!" Sirius threw open the door with a bang, striding in as if he owned the place. "See, I thought we were here, yeah? But it was so quiet inside, I was sure I'd gotten the wrong place. So I've been up and down the whole train like some kind of idiot. What's happened to proper Marauder noise?"

"Well, y'know, Padfoot, it's hardly Marauders without you…"

That got a laugh out of him. We were soon acting like proper Marauders, eating and laughing, as old friends came in and out. To judge by that train ride, this year was gonna be pretty damn awesome. That's why I've never believe in first impressions.

A/N;; Foreshadowing, foreshadowing, foreshadowing! Yay for forehshadowing!

Just as a warning, this isn't way up high on my updating priority list… It's a little something I do on the side when I can find the time. Just so I don't get loads of angry emails about why I haven't updated in forever.

Buuuut, there's a pretty good chance I'll update more often if I get some nice reviews. So, um, yeah. Review!


	3. It's War

Fast forward to the following evening

Fast forward to the following evening. James and Sirius were sitting in a corner, doing something that would doubtlessly get them in trouble; Peter was struggling with a Transfiguration assignment, part of a new resolution of his to keep on top of his work load. And me, I was sitting quietly, reading a book, and keeping an eye on the clock. Lily and I had the first patrol shift on Mondays, from eight to ten, and James wanted me to make a good first impression.

"Seriously, two hours every other day alone with Lily? Dude, you've got to throw in a few words for me..." Such had been James's reaction when he first found out about the patrol pairings. He was all enthusiasm, confident that this was his chance to score points with Lily. If she had me, a responsible, mature prefect (that was the part where Sirius snorted), tell her how amazing he (James, not me) was, then surely she would be convinced. The thought of Lily Evans being persuaded that James was something other than a big headed prat was slightly ridiculous to me, but I said nothing. James didn't like it when people said he didn't have a chance.

So, there I was, leisurely flipping a page, waiting for Lily to appear. The grandfather clock showed two minutes to eight, and still there was no sign of her flaming red head. I thought of going to check outside the common room, but decided against it. What can I say, I'm a lazy guy.

I kept my eyes trained on the clock. If she wasn't here in five minutes, I'd go see if she was waiting on the other side of the Fat Lady. If she wasn't there, well, too bad. I'd been ready to leave at eight; it was she who had bailed. It wasn't my fault, it wasn't my problem.

Eight and three minutes. Reluctantly, I pushed myself up, putting my book down on the table beside me. "You going?" James called over from his corner, where he was huddled with Sirius over something. I preferred not to ask what they were doing, and simply nodded. "Remember what we talked about," he winked, and turned back to Sirius. And so I headed out of the common room.

Nobody was there. Not a red headed prefect, or anybody else. A swift glance was enough to show me I was the only one in the corridor. Should I go back in? My Marauder conscience told me I should, and damn Lily and our patrols. And yet, being a prefect does weird things to you and your conscience. Like make you feel you should stay and wait.

And so I did. Not for too long, I told myself. Just five minutes, to see if she would show up. It wouldn't do to screw up so badly on my first day back. So I'd just make sure that if anybody did screw up, it was her. Me, I was perfectly-

**BOOM.**

The easiest way to describe it would be comparing it to the time Peter blew up his cauldron in third year. Only that time it hadn't been quite so loud, and I doubted it had shaken the walls as much as I could feel the wall shaking behind me. The wall that divided the common room from the corridor. What had James and Sirius done this time?

The Fat Lady swung back to let me in. The scene inside could be described with one short word- chaotic.

It looked like somebody had covered every surface in the common room with color changing ink. The kind that flashes red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple-pink really fast and gives you a headache. James and Sirius were standing in the middle of it all, looking very amused. Lily, not so much, if the way she was now yelling at them was any sign.

"-are you two complete _idiots?!_" she was saying, just as I came in, "That could have been dangerous! Never mind that color changing ink is toxic, though if you ask me, that's quite a good reason for detention. But did you even think of the consequences of an explosion like that in a common room?! You do realize people three floors down heard that? And they don't know it's just a little prank courtesy of the _Marauders_." She spat out the word, "For all you know, the teachers might think that You-Know-Who is here, keeping us hostage-"

"Are you done now?" James sounded as undisturbed as he looked, nothing but an amused little smile to give away his feelings. Lily glared, but was silent.

"Look, that stuff is not toxic. You really think that it would be available at Flourish & Blotts for 17 Knuts a bottle if it were? And as for You-Know-Who being here, you know how many protections are around the school? He's no match for Dumbledore, and they both know it."

"Just because _you're_ so irresponsible, doesn't mean we all are. Some people are willing to admit they're not perfect, that maybe somebody is better than them."

It was then I chose to intervene. "Look, Evans," I kept my voice level and cool, "If you want to shout at Prongs here for his irresponsible actions, that is your full right as a prefect. I myself would have to agree with you on that point." James raised his eyebrows, and I winked. He nodded, smirking. "However, it would be extremely unprofessional of you to involve your own personal opinion of him in this matter."

"Whatever Lupin," Her wrath was now targeted at me. I didn't particularly care. I was good at keeping my head in such situations. I knew how to win fights. "I'd just like to point out, that it would be unprofessional of _you _to involve _your _personal opinion of Potter. Nor would it be honorary to avoid blame for a prank you were obviously involved in."

"Me?" I put on my most innocent face, the one that could get me out of trouble even with McGonagall. Sometimes. "I wasn't even here. I was waiting outside for _you_ to show up for our patrol." I smiled triumphantly. I had her beat.

"Patrol? Don't be silly, Lupin. Our patrol only starts at-" She caught sight of the clock. "Oh."

She turned on the spot and stomped off to her dorm. Hell, what a sore loser.

"Thanks for that, Moony," James was clapping me on the back, grinning. "I was sure she was gonna give me detention."

"Don't kid yourself, she'll remember it in the morning." That was Sirius, come to join us.

"Probably. Who cares."

Sirius turned to me. "You do realize she'd going to hate you for the rest of your life now? Evans doesn't like it when people humiliate her."

--

The next morning, when we came down, the common room was squeaky clean.

"Remind me to thank the house elves next time we're down there," James muttered to us as we climbed down the stairs. "You think Lily will buy it if I tell her I cleaned up?"

I didn't see why he had to talk so quietly, until I caught sight of Lily, sitting on an armchair and looking deeply immersed in this morning's Daily Prophet. I was all for walking by quietly without catching her attention, but James had different plans.

"Hey Evans, see how this place is so-"

"Spare yourself, Potter. Like it isn't obvious the elves came in the night and cleaned the place up." He scowled, but we kept on walking.

"And you, Lupin," I turned around, "You've got a patrol with the Slytherins at eight tonight." She looked very pleased with herself.

"Me? Why?"

"Because I told Dorcas you bailed on me last night." She smirked, and I really, really, wanted to punch her there and then, in front of everybody. Because there was no way I was going to convince Dorcas I was innocent, and Lily knew it.

--

A/N;; I'm back! Hope you've enjoyed this, and review please!


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